The traditional Mediterranean diet is a plant-based menu emphasizing whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, yogurt, nuts, olives and seafood. It's a combination of influences from Spain, northern Africa, Italy, Greece, France and the Middle East. While specific foods vary by country, certain characteristics are common to each and have contributed to what has become the modern Mediterranean diet. This eating plan is recommended as a preventive diet for heart disease, strokes, cancer and type 2 diabetes.
Healthy Heart
The Mediterranean diet is full of the nutrients associated with heart health, such as dietary fiber, antioxidants, phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals. Total calories from fat are greater than current recommendations (35 to 40 percent); however, the fat is heart healthy monounsaturated fats, primarily nuts, seeds, olives, olive oil and fish. The Mediterranean diet includes very little meat and few dairy products, keeping saturated fat intake low. Because it is rich in antioxidants and healthy fat, this diet helps to decrease low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol and increase high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) or "good" cholesterol.
Magnesium and calcium-rich whole grains, nuts, leafy greens and yogurt and potassium rich fruits and vegetables abound in the Mediterranean diet. These minerals help to regulate and reduce blood pressure, thus decreasing the risk of stroke. In addition, fruits and vegetables are rich in folate, which helps to decrease the amount of circulating homocysteine in the bloodstream. Increased levels of this amino acid in the blood increase the risk of developing heart disease.
Cancer Prevention
Following the Mediterranean diet may be protective against the development of cancer, especially of the breast and colon. Because it is rich in fish, fruits and vegetables and low in saturated animal fats, meat, and processed foods, it offers more beneficial nutrients. Anti-oxidants and phytochemicals (disease fighting nutrients found in plant foods) offer protection against cellular damage. In addition, the Mediterranean diet has a higher ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fats. Omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory and may offer other anti-cancer properties.
Type 2 Diabetes
According to a study published in the British Medical Journal (May 2008), following a traditional Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes substantially. Over 13,000 graduates with no history of diabetes from the University of Navarro, Spain, were recruited to participate in a complete diet analysis concentrating on the degree of adherence to the Mediterranean diet.
Participants were tracked over a median of 4.4 years using in-depth food frequency questionnaires that measured their entire diets, including the use of oils. The conclusion of this study was that a high adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet is associated with a 83 percent relative reduction in the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Simply eating certain foods alone won't prevent disease. Consuming a healthy plant-based diet low in processed food, such as the Mediterranean diet, along with using stress management techniques and being physically active every day is what makes the Mediterranean lifestyle healthy.
References
- British Medical Journal; Adherence to Mediterranean diet and risk of developing diabetes: prospective cohort study; Martinez-Gonzales MA et al; June 2008.
- European Food Information Council
- Public Health Nutr; The Mediterranean diet: science and practice; Willett WC; Feb 2006.
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